Ships' Wages Books--Slave Trade.

recording the personal account of all 41 members of the crew from Captain Richard Griffiths to the ship's boys, debits (including brandy, cloth, other goods, cash advances, and hospital money) and credits (including, to the Captain, "3 Privilige Slaves") listed on facing pages, recording 24 deaths and 1 desertion among the crew, most accounts concluding with an acknowledgement of receipt of the final sum due signed by the crewman or their beneficiary, 83 pages, plus two additional leaves attached with red wax, small 4to, marbled wrappers, 1770-1772; [with:] "Fox's Wages Book Feb[ruar]y 1775 [in fact 1774] Capt Mitchell", similarly arranged with the accounts of 24 crew members, recording 4 deaths (including the ship's cook, "Drowned on the Coast") 5 desertions (mostly in St Dominigue and Barbados), and 2 crew-members transferring to the Badger, 51 pages, folio, brown paper wrappers, 1774-1776; [also with:] two leaves from a letterbook with copies of letters by William Davenport, mostly to Messrs Vance, Caldwell, and Vance, discussing the sale of slaves and other subjects, four loose receipts two deeds, and an inventory of the land of Ds. Davenport, some water and dust staining to the volumes, the loose items fragile

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Life and death among the crew of slave ships. These wages books both relate to slaving voyages undertaken on behalf of Richard Davenport, one of Liverpool's richest merchants, who invested in more than 160 slaving ventures between 1748 and 1792. They provide compelling evidence of the crews who manned the ships that plied the Atlantic trade. Slave ships were notoriously prone to epidemic disease and there is little doubt that one such epidemic swept the True Blue: more than half the crew died on the voyage, and most of these within a short period in February 1771. Deaths among the ship's slave population, not recorded here, are likely to have been even higher.